Kwapnoski: Wal-Mart case indicates it is time that society says women are entitled to the same pay and promotion opportunities as men

On Tuesday, March 29, 2011, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Dukes v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

At issue is whether the justices should allow certification of the largest class-action employment lawsuit in U.S. history, a long-standing dispute against mega-corporation Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over alleged gender bias in pay and promotions. Arguments in the case are Tuesday morning and ruling can be expected by late June.

The company is the world's largest retailer and the nation's largest private employer. If the class-action goes through, hundreds of thousands of women - perhaps as many as 1.6 million plaintiffs - could join in the largest discrimination claim of its kind. Tens of billions of dollars or more in damages are potentially at stake.

On Tuesday’s program, Joseph Sellers, the lead attorney in Dukes v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and plaintiff Betty Dukes will appear In The Arena.

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s five OFF-SET questions is Christine Kwapnoski, one of the original plaintiffs.

The mammoth appeal started small - six women from California, unknown to each other at first, but sharing a common story. "I'm a fighter if nothing else, and so are all the other women that are involved," said Kwapnoski.

You worked for Sam's Club since 1986 with outstanding evaluations, and you received a number of merit raises over the years.  Despite frequent requests for promotion, you were not allowed to join the ranks of management.  What reasons were you given?  

I was not given reasons typically.  Upon one occasion, I was told I needed to "doll up" and to "blow the cobwebs off my make-up."  I was working on the receiving dock when I was told these things.  This is a dusty, dirty area and it would be impossible to do the job if  I was wearing heels and a skirt.

Two weeks after the lawsuit suit was filed, you were promoted to an area manager. That sounds like progress. What was wrong? 

 It was after the fact–I had been working for Sam’s Club for about 15 years at that point.  This promotion should have been given me many years earlier.

So did you ever become a manager? 

I am still basically an area manager–it is an assistant manager position.

How are you generally treated as a Wal-Mart employee? 

I feel I am under a microscope but cannot really expand on this at this time.

What will the Supreme Court be deciding on Tuesday?

At this point, the issue is whether we will be able to present our case as a class action to a jury. 

The trial court in 2004 decided this was appropriate, because of the large number of women who have been treated in a similar fashion.  We have statistics and declarations from many, many women to support our position.  Wal-Mart appealed and lost and appealed again and lost again, and now is asking the Supreme Court to reverse this decision.  We are really just asking for the law to be applied, and do not think Wal-Mart is "too big to sue." 

 What does it mean to you that this case has gone all the way to the nation’s highest court? 

 It means that this issue of women's equality is still an open question and it is time that our society says women are entitled to the same pay and promotion opportunities as men.  This has caused a lot of people to pay attention to this issue.

Do you still work at Wal-Mart? 

I still work at Sam's Club, a division of W-M.

CLICK HERE for CNN.com coverage of the Supreme Court case.

Wal-Mart operates 4,300 facilities in the U.S., with more than $400 billion in global sales in 2009. It employs 1.4 million people in the U.S. alone. Officials boast their anti-discrimination policy has been in place as long as the company has been around, and a recent public relations campaign has been launched to promote its diversity and inclusion.